For Halloween I’d been meaning to finally grab the HD remaster of the 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil, install it on my laptop, and play it while waiting by my front door to give out candy. The PC version is half-off on the Humble Store as of this writing (still Steam DRM though). I played the 2002 Gamecube version extensively, but spent a little bit with it before Halloween to remind myself just what it was about this game. By many modern standards it might be considered an awful game, but depending on your mindset and expectations it might still be a great game.

The biggest issue that’s always faced the RE series is its identity crisis between being an action game or an adventure game. The biggest criticisms of the games prior to Resident Evil 4 — which basically launched the modern third person shooter, was that they had awkward controls and aiming. I always felt it was better to think of those games as adventure games where you occasionally have to shoot things. If you’re checking out this remaster or any pre-4 RE game for the first time, at least go in with that mindset. It’s mostly about exploring and solving puzzles. Combat is often a last resort.

At its core, I think the 2002 Resident Evil is mostly the result of good level design and probably good puzzles too. The first time you play through it the game is about exploring and eventually learning the layout of the mansion. First-time players not used to games of that era might be taken aback by how little information it gives them. You have to find the maps for each floor yourself, you have to actually read documents and item descriptions in order to know what to do, and you never see a waypoint marker. I wonder how first-time players reacted to the ink ribbon system — the actual ability to save the game being tied to a consumable item.

Update: After spending a few more hours with Resident Evil during Halloween, I understand again that the entire game is pretty much one giant puzzle. Its most compelling aspect is simply unraveling the whole thing through exploration and actually thinking about where you need to go next, each new secret unlocking new areas you saw were inaccessible before.

I remember subsequent runs through this RE however essentially turning this adventure game into a sort of arcade game since you get ratings based on completion time and other aspects. I used to have this whole game dialed into my head so much I could beat it and get the best ending in just under three hours. That muscle memory is kind of messing up my current run because what I remember is getting mixed up with what I’ve forgotten.

Back in the day, what initially brought me into this rendition of Resident Evil was its production value. For starters, I didn’t own a PlayStation and thus didn’t get the chance to play anything like an RE game. On top of that this game had some of the most impressive graphics on the Gamecube with impeccable art direction. It just looked like a game that was worth $50 in a way that was very rare for the platform it was on. Even now that aspect of the remaster hasn’t really aged badly despite most of the graphics being pre-rendered assets originally made for a 480p resolution. It’s still a very slick-looking product.

If you’ve played the demo for Resident Evil 7 or at least watched the short trailer clips it’s pretty easy to see why a fan of the original RE might be optimistic about it. RE7 looks like the game I’ve wanted for a while — an old-style RE focused on exploration and puzzles but with modern controls. The current generation of survival horror games has been doing this since Frictional Games popularized indie horror with Amnesia — they come from the same adventure game roots as RE, but I’m glad Capcom decided to keep guns after examining all those games. I just wonder how Capcom plans to convey RE7’s locations to players. The way the old games don’t give you any direct instructions on where to go is inconceivable in a modern big-budget game.

If you’re going in for the first time, just know firstly that it’s very much a game from before a lot of developers figured out third person 3D controls, and secondly that it’s not a shooter but rather an adventure game with shooting.

Resident Evil 4, in many ways, is a special game. Not only did it take the franchise in a whole new direction, but it also influenced many other games you see today. Since its original 2005 GameCube release, Resident Evil 4 has become so popular that it has been ported to almost every platform. Now, in 2016, we add two more platforms to that list; Xbox One and PlayStation 4, which means that the game has been released a grand total of 12 times.

STORY
(4★)

I will try to make this section brief as this review is focused more on the Remaster than the game itself. You take control of Leon S. Kennedy who, after the events of Resident Evil 2, became a secret agent working for the president of the United States of America. Ashley Graham, the president’s daughter, has been kidnapped by a religious cult – the Los Illuminados, and it’s Leon’s job to find her.

Like the original Resident Evil from 1996, Resident Evil 4’s story has a decent amount of mystery about it. There are numerous characters, both new and old, as well as some humour and B-movie style lines; something which Mikami-san is known for.

GAMEPLAY
(5★)

The gameplay remains unchanged from the original release, which is for the best. This game is still as fun as it ever has been, and the clunky controls add to the balance of horror and action perfectly.

Leon ready to fire at one of the many Ganados you’ll face.

For those who don’t know, Resident Evil 4 is the first Resident Evil game to use the Over the Shoulder viewpoint and pioneer it for future games. The game heads for a slightly more action route but still manages to retain its horror roots. You will also have to manage your item space without the convenience of Storage Boxes and can purchase new weapons (or upgrade existing one) from the infamous Merchant.

Overall, the gameplay still remains a masterpiece. It’s fun, challenging, and a little bit scary at times. I feel that the gameplay of Resident Evil 4 makes it plain to see that Shinji Mikami, the director, is a genius when it comes to making horror games.

VISUALS
(3★)

I have always enjoyed the art design of Resident Evil 4, and this version makes the design come to life more than ever. The different locales in this game all look great in this presentation of the game.

This version of Resident Evil 4 features 1080p resolution and 60fps gameplay. I have to say that the 1080p visuals make a big difference. While some of the textures have been remade, the biggest benefit is the cleaner image that the higher resolution provides.

I am, by no means, an expert when it comes down to determining frame rate. However, I have not noticed many drops or stuttering. Mostof the time, the game runs very smoothly. I have noticed some very minor drops during the cells/water segment, but I did not find itunplayable.

A great design to an otherwise ordinary room.

While this version looks good, I would have liked CAPCOM to work with the team who are creating the unofficial HD mod for the PC version. This texture pack replaces the existing textures with new and improved HD ones. They look stunning, although the project is still a work-in-progress. Perhaps we’ll see that version in an official release someday.

AUDIO
(3★)

The sound design continues to be perfect! A horror-toned soundtrack, mixed with some eerie sound effects make this action game just as much of a horror as previous entries in the series. Unfortunately, the sound design is somewhat spoiled in this version.

Very often, sound effects are plagued by popping and stuttering. I have not noticed this happen to music, but it is very annoying to hear the audio break up and ruin the atmosphere. I hope that this issue will be fixed in the future with a patch, but until then, I am left a bit disappointed with the audio in its current state.

Example of weapon upgrading or “Tune Up”

ADDITIONAL FEATURES
(3★)

To the disappointment of fans, this version of Resident Evil 4 contains the same Achievement and Trophy list as the Xbox 360, PS3 and Steam versions. Many people were hoping for an improved and more diverse list for a game of this size, but unfortunately, this was not the case. 12 Achievements (1000G) and 12 Trophies (0 Platinum) is what you’ll get here.

Another disappointment is the removal of the Easy difficulty from European versions of the game. While I never liked Easy mode, due to it removing segments of the game, this difficulty should have still been included for those who wish to experience the story in a more casual way.

Finally, we have some new settings. Aside from a new Motion Blur effect, which makes the game look much worse, there are three control schemes you can choose from; the default being TYPE I, making use of the Right Stick to aim. I personally could not get to grips with TYPE I as the camera appears to shift before you can move the gun, resulting in me being unable to aim accurately and swiftly. TYPE II is more like the original control scheme, except it uses the triggers to aim and shoot for a more modernised approach.

Of course, this version of Resident Evil 4 still contains all the unlockables and replay value from previous games, such as new costumes, Mercenaries, and Separate Ways.

SUMMARY

Resident Evil 4 on Xbox One is a great port. It has a few problems, but the only one that irritates me is the audio popping. I would be lying if I said the game hasn’t aged, but it still remains fun 11 years later. If you have an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 but have never played Resident Evil 4, now is a great time to do so, and see why Resident Evil 4 has been as influential as it has been.

The Modern Hits Launch Trailer features footage of each of the three latest remasters for Xbox One and PlayStation 4:

Resident Evil 4

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 6

The trailer also explains what is included with each release. In short, that each game is the definitive release for consoles and contains any and all post-launch DLC.

Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 6 are available now to purchase individually for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Mon, 29 Aug 2016 23:01:14 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/resident-evil-4-is-now-available-for-xbox-one-and-playstation-4/The final 20th Anniversary Remaster is finally here! You can now download and play Resident Evil 4. If you pre-ordered the game, your copy should be unlocked and ready for you to play. If you haven’t purchased the game yet, the links below will take you to the product page.

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Sun, 28 Aug 2016 01:46:01 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/28/trophies-revealed-for-resident-evil-4-ps4/Achievement / Trophy website Exophase has just revealed the full Trophy list for the PlayStation 4 version of Resident Evil 4. Unfortunately, it is bad news for some.

The list, as expected, is an exact copy of the PS3 list. This means that PlayStation gamers will once again not receive a Platinum Trophy for earning every one. The Achievement list is very likely to be the same list as the Xbox 360 version.

Resident Evil 4 is out in just three days, 30th August 2016, for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The Biohazard Value Pack, currently announced for PlayStation 4 only, will include all the currently released remasters of Resident Evil, as well as the 60-track OST of Biohazard HD Remaster on CD. Unfortunatley, it appears that only Resident Evil HD and Resident Evil 0 HD are on the disc, where as Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6 are digital download codes. A full list of items included in the release is below.

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Wed, 24 Aug 2016 23:04:10 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/25/playstation-humble-bundle-includes-resident-evil-games/For the first time ever, Humble Bundle are offering a PlayStation bundle. The CAPCOM PlayStation Bundle features titles across PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 and includes two Resident Evil games.

If you pay more than the average of $12.06 (£9.15) you will unlock Tier 2, which includes Resident Evil HD for both PS3 and PS4. However, if you pay over $15 (£11.38) you will also unlock Resident Evil 0 HD for both platforms, as well as a total of 11 other games and some other deals.

The bundle Includes a total of three tiers, the first costing as little as $1 (£0.76). On top of all that, you will be supporting charity just by buying these games! Interested? Then be sure to check out the Humble CAPCOM PlayStation Bundle page.

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Tue, 23 Aug 2016 12:05:07 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/23/two-new-xbox-one-ps4-resident-evil-4-videos-released/The official “biohazard” YouTube channel has today uploaded two new Resident Evil 4 videos from the Xbox One and PS4 version. This new remaster includes all previously released content, as well as 1080p visuals and 60fps for the first time on consoles. You can check out the videos below.

Resident Evil 4 is out this Tuesday, 30th August 2016, for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

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Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:03:27 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/steam-capcom-sale-august-2016/Steam are running a CAPCOM sale from now until 22nd August 2016. You can find all the Resident Evil related deals below:

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Tue, 09 Aug 2016 11:02:06 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/09/xbox-live-capcom-sale-august-2016/If you’re an Xbox gamer, you can currently save some money across a range of CAPCOM titles, including the recent Xbox One port of Resident Evil 5. Below is a list of every Resident Evil title available:

These deals are available to all Xbox LIVE members. For a full list of deals, including the rest of the CAPCOM Sale and Deals with Gold, please visit Major Nelson.

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Wed, 03 Aug 2016 11:56:46 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/03/resident-evil-4-full-pre-order-details/You can now digitally pre-order Resident Evil 4 across your platform of choice, and each one will have their own bonus.

“Xbox One owners who pre-order right now can take advantage of Microsoft’s Summer Spotlight deal which allows Xbox Live Rewards members to get a bonus 4,000 Rewards Credits ($4 USD, or equivalent) for purchasing $40 of featured Summer Spotlight content. Pre-ordering RE4 counts toward this amount, so don’t procrastinate because the Summer Spotlight deal only runs until September 5!

PlayStation 4 users in the U.S. will receive a set of awesome RE 20th Anniversary avatars for use with their profiles. All these avatars come from RE4, including the iconic Umbrella logo and the one-man army himself, Leon S. Kennedy. Few things score you immediate cool points like sporting the heroic image of Leon next to your PSN ID can.”

Resident Evil 4 will be released on 30th August 2016 for £15.99 and will feature 1080p visuals and an increased framerate.

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Tue, 02 Aug 2016 00:10:52 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/02/resident-evil-4-now-available-to-pre-order-on-xbox-one/Can’t wait for Resident Evil 4? Good news! You can now pre-order and pre-download the 20th Anniversary version of Resident Evil 4 on Xbox One.

The port, which features graphical and framerate updates, will cost you £15.99 and use 10.6GB of data on your HDD. You can play the game on 30th August 2016.

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Fri, 29 Jul 2016 16:57:27 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/resident-evil-0-hd-sells-1-1m-units/Resident Evil Zero HD has now reached 1.1 million units sold, CAPCOM have announced. The HD Remaster was released this January for almost every major platform; Xbox One, PS4, PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. It’s unclear how well the game performed on each individual platform, and I’m unsure if these records include the Xbox 360 version, as the console is not mentioned in the chart.

Resident Evil Zero HD was able to reach this milestone in just six months, which seems to be a good accomplishment, considering the original GameCube release has sold 1.25 million units in 14 years. Although, that was for just the one platform rather than five different platforms.

Resident Evil Zero HD is out right now across digital stores and disc via the Origins Collection on Xbox One and PS4.

Ever since THQ closed its doors in early 2013, many of the franchises we know and love have been sold off to other publishers. Volition and Saints Row joined the gang at Deep Silver. South Park rochambeau’d to Ubisoft. They sold off Big Huge Games to 38 Studios which obviously was the catalyst that “destroyed” RI. While you can still visit THQ.com, there’s really no point anymore. You can find what you need elsewhere, and a lot easier.

Gamers near and far were stung hard from the deathblow that had been struck on THQ, and one major question still remains on just about everyone’s mind: WHERE THE HELL IS TAK AND HIS BAND OF RASCALS NOW?!?!

Gone, but not forgotten…

Now, I know what you’re thinking, and I’m going to stop you right there. Yes, I know that Tak lived a long and glorious life, spawning sequels and spin-offs, and even a TV series at Nickelodeon that lasted 26 episodes over 1 season. I KNOW THIS. Even so, you can’t tell me that you don’t miss the bastard with a straight face. Go ahead. TRY IT.

As of this writing, I can’t find any concrete evidence that Tak has officially been killed off. I can’t even find where he and his tribe have wandered off to when their previous home was destroyed (RIP THQ LOL NASA NAACP NBA MLB NFL NHL). Nickelodeon doesn’t even seem to know who Tak is, and I think that’s a damn shame. I don’t know how Tak became such an outlaw, someone no one wants to acknowledge, but it seems he’s now this generation’s Valentina Tershkova. A damn, damn shame.

Will we never find out if Tak got revenge on this nefarious ape?

Since it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting a new entry in this absolutely beloved series, I ask anyone who is willing to listen: shake the proper bushes, ruffle the correct feathers, knock on every door you can – we need at least a remaster of this classic. Tak and the Power of Juju can NOT be lost for future generations. It just CAN’T. Hell, why not get the whole band involved? Add in Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams. Shoot… Why not add the 3rd title Tak: The Great Juju Challenge? Guess what? You add those, you need to add Tak and the Guardians of Gross in the collection (Wii version, please, of course, that was the best one). Oh, but if you do that, you HAVE to add in Tak: Mojo Mistake from the Nintendo DS. Oh, but, now we’d need all the Game Boy Advance ports added into this collection of remasters, then. Screw it. Toss in the entire series of the animated series. I know all of this seems like a lot to ask for, and it would likely be a lot of work, but do you honestly think it’s not worth the $8.73 asking price per unit sold? In today’s market, you can’t afford NOT to jump on this…

We deserve it. Please, publishers, I’m begging you. GET THIS MAJOR FRANCHISE BACK IN OUR HANDS AND IN THIS NEW GENERATION’S PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL LIBRARIES. We deserve it. You deserve it. Most of all, Tak deserves it. And you’d be making one young man by the name of Matthew Powers very happy.

I was going to add more pictures for everyone to enjoy, but looking over them all, I just got too sad, so I had to shut it down. Tak bless you, and Tak bless America.

This may or may not be a joke. The world may never know. The world may never want to…

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Fri, 22 Jul 2016 21:19:39 +0000V-JOLThttps://stilldawnblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/22/resident-evil-4-store-page-appears-on-xbox-games-store/The Xbox One version of Resident Evil 4 now has a store page added to the Games Store which includes a new product description, as well as the file size (10.6 GB). The full description is below:

Resident Evil 4 arrives on Xbox One in full 1080p HD with an increased frame rate. This revolutionary masterpiece represents a turning point for the series as it brought the gameplay to a third-person over-the-shoulder perspective for the first time. Featuring a thrilling storyline taking place after the destruction of Umbrella Corporation, Resident Evil 4 not only changed the course of Resident Evil, but influenced countless other titles as well.

When displaying this page on your Xbox One console, it is suggested that Resident Evil 4 will soon be available to pre-download to your console. I will share pre-order information when and if it appears.

Resident Evil 4 will be released on 30th August 2016 for Xbox One and PS4.

So I’ve decided to break from the cycle of anime reviews for this next one, to get a little more hands on and take on a new challenge, video games, specifically dealing with the title Shadow of the Colossus. An incredible game, originally debuting on PlayStation 2 way back in 2005, eventually seeing an HD remaster package for the PS3 that paired it alongside Ico, an equally revolutionary title, both works originating from Team Ico.

SotC might possibly be, fundamentally one of the greatest games ever created, yet it is beyond simple. In summation, you play as Wander, a man who crosses into a forbidden land in hopes of finding a way to bring a deceased woman back to life. With the guidance of an ethereal presence named Dormin, you wander the land, sword and bow in hand, slaying colossal sized incarnations of the lands idols. in the hopes that your personal sacrifice will grant the wish you are willing to give everything for.

SotC is far more about the journey than it is the ending. It is so genuinely intriguing and interpretive that one must draw on all their knowledge of the land they have traveled and conversations that they have partaken place in to fully comprehend what has, is, and will happen. SotC delineates itself from most other games in how open ended the storytelling becomes. The myriad of questions that fill as you play are never fully answered. The ending you ultimately arrive at isn’t as filling as you thought it would be. The answers you seek, are not the answers you receive. This is the true beauty of SotC.

Set in rolling, true open world, where you are only hindered by your imagination. You can go almost anywhere. While some areas are easily accessible, others are a endearing test of your knowledge and patience. It is up to you to find a way, whether it be by climbing, horseback, jumping, even catching a ride from a bird is plausible, or any combination of them, you are only limited by your ability to interpret a multitude of pathways to seemingly unreachable areas.

Also a truly brilliant concept that I have never seen before was emplaced, or should I say not emplaced, in the landscapes. Besides the colossi who are confined to specific locals, the whole world has no other roaming NPCs or enemies. In the game’s introduction, a narrating dialogue explains that you have step foot into a forbidden land, and it doesn’t take long for that feeling to deeply set within you. A majestic scenery, offset by how disgustingly haunting it becomes as you ride through, only to understand how utterly barren of life it is. Disturbing, definitely, but as you play on, and foreign areas become familiar, since there is no real need to keep a pace to the game, you are free to just take in the environment. It is almost as if Team Ico doesn’t want you to actually finish the game, as much as they just want you to soak in the forbidden land they have created for you.

Simple mechanics paired with an astoundingly immersive world, guided by an unknowingly dark story, a gem of it’s era that far too few know about, Shadow of the Colossus is the basis for all that has since come. So all these open-ended adventure games all you kids play nowadays, understand that to get to where you are now, pioneers a long time ago paved the way. A hauntingly beautiful experience that resonates eerily, quietly rattling at your inner being, forcing one to question their own motives, casting aside mainstream ideologies, trudging into an unknown future.

Ooh… and I haven’t even touched Ico and the astounding connection between the two games. Coming soon!

It’s official! Square Enix has confirmed the existence of the long awaited HD remaster of Final Fantasy XII, dubbed Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age.

According to Kotaku (translating from the Japanese publication Famitsu), The Zodiac Age will be based on Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System, rather than the standard version we received in North America in 2006. It will feature revamped character models and cutscenes, an improved turbo-mode, an auto-save feature, a re-recorded soundtrack, and shorter load times.

As of now Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age is only confirmed for PlayStation 4 and will release in Japan sometime in 2017. It’s a safe bet that we’ll get it as well, but since Final Fantasy XII was a PS2 exclusive 10 years ago, I’m not sure we’ll see an Xbox One release.

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Sun, 29 May 2016 18:00:55 +0000DoctorGeekersonhttps://room633k.wordpress.com/2016/05/29/why-im-a-sucker-for-hd-remasters/HD versions of games are a morally grey area, you either love them, or you hate them, because you see them as a way for game companies to get some easy money by baiting gamers on nostalgia. Well I hate to tell you, I’m the kind of guy these corporations target. I am a sucker for HD remasters.

Some of you may not know what a HD remaster is, so, allow me to explain. These games are re-released games of games that were released on previous consoles, but now feature an improved graphical output of usually 720p or 1080p, to take advantage of newer console technological capabilities. These games also have new textures and trophy/achievement support. Some of the Playstation 3 HD remasters such as the “Sly Collection”, are improved to include 3D and/or Playstation Move support. The Playstation Move for those who you who don’t remember the Playstation Move; was a motion-sensing game controller, that used a Playstation webcam such as the Playstation Eye or Playstation Camera and sensors in the wand like controller, to detect motion. These HD remasters are available on disk and digital formats.
The main reason I love remasters is pretty simple; it allows me to play games I missed out on playing, at their time of release. Classic titles such as “God of War”, “Killzone” even the “Final Fantasy” series, are all seen as these epic game franchises I’m expected to have played and enjoyed when they were originally released, but I didn’t. Even now I can’t really explain why I never played these games. They are just a handful of the many series I should have played, according to most gamers, but whatever reason, I just simply didn’t. I remember when I received my Playstation 3 for my birthday many years ago, it was bundled with a copy of “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” along with a few other titles. I played Uncharted 2 for half an hour before losing interest, taking it out of the Playstation 3 and never playing it again. Uncharted 2 is seen by fans and critics alike as the best in the Uncharted series, and one of the best Playstation 3 games ever. It will surely please some of you, that I have since played through the Uncharted trilogy as a result of the Playstation 4 HD remaster; “Uncharted: Nathan Drake’s Collection”, and enjoyed the entire Uncharted trilogy immensely.
I can’t use the excuse of “I didn’t own that console when that game came out, how could I play it?” Because ever since acquiring a Playstation 1 in the early noughties and having made gaming my main hobby, and acquired almost every games console since then (minus the Wii U and Xbox One as of the time of writing) within a year of the consoles’ respective release, it’s pretty odd I’ve never played many of these titles. Well now I have the opportunity to play these titles. These remasters give me the perfect excuse to play these kinds of games that I missed out on, and apparently shouldn’t, have missed out on, plus the HD remasters are usually reasonable priced, even on “Day 1” release, compared to original copies of certain older games. These remasters are also usually graphically superior due to an increased display output of 720p or 1080p, as I mentioned briefly earlier. While I don’t usually care for graphical enhancements for older games, I’m sure some gamers do.

A few examples of HD remasters from my personal collection.

I am a fan of the occasional niche Japanese video game series, like some of you reading this. However some of the series that you and I enjoy,might not even be playable in English without HD re-releases. Last year I tried out the original “Ace Attorney” trilogy available on the Nintendo 3DS and IOS devices . I fell in love with the series, and it’s now easily in my top ten game franchises I’ve ever played. I really like it. But I found out whilst roaming the web that these games were originally released for the GameBoy Advance, and were exclusively released for Japan. Only when it was re-released for the Nintendo DS, did the series receive an international release. I like think the international release worked out pretty well for Capcom, the game’s developer and publisher. The “Ace Attorney” series is pretty popular amongst gamers here in the West, for its interesting characters, well-developed stories, pop culture references and humour, with the “Objection” quote used by many of the game’s characters becoming a pop culture reference in itself. You would be surprised how many gaming staples and household names, have only come over to the west because of HD re-releases. “Animal Forest” for the Nintendo 64 was re-released for the Nintendo GameCube and called “Animal Crossing”. The franchise has since sold 31.17 million copies worldwide over multiple franchise installments and spin-off titles internationally as a result of that re-release.
I’ve previously briefly mentioned that I own a lot of consoles, and while they all work, I simply don’t have the room to have all of them functioning all at once. This makes it hard for me to replay games from older consoles when I want. That’s where HD remasters come in. You could argue it’s a conspiracy that game developers are making newer consoles instead of allowing owners to upgrade them (like a desktop) because they want your money, making you buy remasters of games you own, but it’s just so darn convenient. Why unplug a newer console just because I yearn to play “Zone of the Enders” or “Ratchet and Clank” again, forcing me to plug-in the old console and set it up, when I can just put in the HD version of the game in the new console with no hassle? And I mean seriously, it gets pretty irritating trying to figure out which electrical cord goes where, especially when you have a lot of consoles and a ton of power and extension leads. I mean it looks like a waterfall of cables in my game area.
Now before some of the more… “PC Elitist” members of the Internet start screaming about emulators, I know emulators are a thing. I’m a perhaps bit odd to the majority of gamers when it comes to gaming. I like my games boxed (if possible) and running on a working, physical console. Call me old-fashioned. Emulators are pretty handy; I’ve got quite a few installed myself. However I only use emulators for the games I own but can’t play on my PAL region consoles. This is due to the occasional case of region lock on some consoles, which forces me to use ISOs I create from my disk copies of the games, to be used on emulators, so I can play the game. Performance of emulators can be an issue on less powerful machines, even emulators for consoles that don’t require a lot of resources such as a Playstation One emulator, can have erratic frame rates , leading to poorer gameplay and immersion. While that’s not an issue for me, the use of the video game emulators, to me, feels soulless. Having grown up with consoles predominantly as a gamer, I am partial to hearing the crack of the opening of a game box, the sound of the console reading the disc and having to make sure you have enough space on your memory card (remember those Playstation One/Two, Original Xbox and GameCube fans?). In comparison, an emulator feels like a cheap copy, which it technically is but that’s beside the point. Basically readers; I know emulators eliminate the need for HD remasters, but I don’t like using them unless I have to.

However I am not a blind defender of HD remasters and there are times where I question the point of an HD remaster. The games I’ve used as examples all preyed upon mostly my nostalgia, whether it be nostalgia for a game I played, or nostalgia for a game I didn’t play, but was released when I was younger. However there has been an increasing trend of HD remasters for games that have only come out within two or three years. “Sleeping Dogs” received a “definitive” edition that contains all released DLC’s and improved graphical output along with some and I quote “…gameplay, setting and audiovisual quality changes based on community feedback.” in 2014; two years after its initial release in 2012. That’s nice and all, but I already own the DLC. I bought the “Game of the Year” edition from Steam during a sale. While that’s nice feature for gamers who never played the game, and get all the DLC in a cost efficient package, for gamers like me it doesn’t mean much. These “improved graphical” enhancements are often, in my opinion rather minimal. There’s only so much improvement that can be made on a game two years old, without making the game in a new engine. I watched comparison videos of the supposed “graphical improvement” of Sleeping Dogs, and for the PC version I saw little to no improvement, and minimal for the console versions in graphical output. What is the point of this supposed “audiovisual quality change” if I can barely see the difference? Surely these gameplay improvements could have been released as a game patch for owners of the game, as well? I shouldn’t be forced to buy this new version, for better gameplay. Either way I completed Sleeping Dogs without any need for these improvements, So I doubt these changes are essential. In my opinion it was a rather blatant move to make some money by trying to convince us gamers that we needed to get this version other the default version. It was actually cheaper for me to buy the base game of Sleeping Dogs and a complete DLC bundle than this “definitive edition”, and I highly doubt purchasing this newer edition would have drastically improved my already pleasurable experience playing Sleeping Dogs.

Another flaw of HD remasters is sometimes the resources to make it just don’t seem worth it. These developers could be making brand new games, utilising new technologies, creating masterpieces. Instead we consumers get the same games from a year ago, just on a different console. While it’s a good way to gain new fans onto a new console, who missed out on these games originally, this issue could easily be solved by backwards compatibility on consoles. I remember the days when consoles such as the Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii had backwards compatibility, to their console predecessors. No need for HD remasters, just get your game from a previous generation and put it in your console and *BAM* it works. Ever since the half-arsed backwards compatibility of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, as well of the success of HD remasters in terms of sales; for consoles, we most likely won’t get true backwards compatibility ever again.

HD remasters will always have a mixed reception. Some people will like the idea of a re-release of a game, as a cash grab. While others have played the original version of the game to death, and want to move on to newer games. However I’ll always like the idea of remasters of older titles because it gives me an excuse to replay classics, I’ve loved to death, or to experience new games in the best version. I am however an opponent of newer titles getting remasters. I think those are a cheap way of making quick, petty cash. I’m fine with companies preying on my nostalgia. However I’m not fine with companies trying to test my general awareness and intelligence of whether to buy a £45 “upgraded version” of a Triple-A title I purchased a year ago. That’s not an “upgrade” that’s a way of trying to take more money from me. Not cool.

What do you think of HD remasters? Do you enjoy replaying older games in HD, or do you think that they are waste of time and money? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments blow.

]]>https://estherwright.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/canis-canem-edit-bully-for-the-next-generation/
Tue, 17 May 2016 15:20:27 +0000estherwrighthttps://estherwright.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/canis-canem-edit-bully-for-the-next-generation/A few weeks ago I was pretty excited to see that Rockstar Games’s critically-acclaimedCanis Canem Edit (2006) (or Bully, as it’s know in the U.S.) had been remastered and rereleased on next generation consoles. I remembered playing this game a lot on Playstation 2 when it first came out ten years ago, so I had fond memories of what I recalled being a tongue-firmly-in-cheek game that took on the American school system, and was curious to see how well it held up.

Welcome to Bullworth

Canis Canem Edit takes players on a journey through the American school system, playing as the serially-expelled troubled teen Jimmy Hopkins, starting out at last-chance boarding school Bullworth Academy. By taking on one clique at a time (the preps, the jocks, the greasers, the nerds etc.) as well as a fair few teachers, avoiding the prefects and getting into an assortment of high school hijinx, the player, via Jimmy, rises the ranks of Bullworth, and eventually defeats the Big Bad (fellow student/antagonist Gary), to bring harmony back to the school.

There has been a fair amount of hype around the remaster and digital rerelease of both Canis Canem Edit/Bully and Manhunt (2003), two of Rockstar’s “much-loved” Playstation 2 “classics” (along with some speculation about new games in the franchises on the way), and I assumed I was in for a jolly trip down memory lane. All in all, the game was as I remembered it: a clever but scathing commentary on American culture, more intelligent and with humour way beyond the comprehension of the teens who are its main characters. Jimmy Hopkins is the (typically Rockstar) quiet, aggressive male protagonist, often times doing terrible things, seemingly for the “greater good” (mostly his own personal gain). If you were to picture GTA: The School Years, you wouldn’t be far off.

In many ways, this is an interesting concept and game. The structure of the in-game ‘days’ to an extent mimics the school day: classes in the morning, classes in the afternoon, and you can get caught and punished by prefects or the police if caught truanting. Various infractions can also reap punishments (ranging from dressing out of school uniform, to enacting violence on adults or younger pupils)—despite these punishments lasting either a few seconds of cutscenes in the principals office, or the mild irritant of having to perform some kind of manual labour around campus. In the same way that other Rockstar titles set their own system of law and order, Canis Canem Edit allows players the (apparent) freedom to exploit at will both sides of their own moral code, and witness the virtual ‘consequences’.

So yes, all potentially interesting stuff. But there are things about this game that make me wonder: did they actually replay this at all before rereleasing it? As I’ve been making my way back through the game, I’ve winced a few times at a couple of the missions that are a bit off-colour (e.g. the grotesque lunch lady who asks you to find “drugs”, which she then slips the unsuspecting chemistry teacher while getting coffee with him; the coach that asks you to collect dirty underwear from the girls’ dorm, when you discover him leaving an adult store). But there’s one set of interrelated missions, squeezed into the game’s third chapter, that are a good example of how, when a game ages badly, it can really age badly.

Context: after taking down the preps and the greasers, the third chapter of the game sees Jimmy/the player on a mission to gain control of the jocks. To do so, he enlists the help of/bullies the nerds, and their leader Earnest.

In the opening cutscene for the mission ‘Paparazzi’, Earnest decides that to help Jimmy ‘take down the jocks’, he needs some ‘inappropriate pictures of someone they care about’– specifically, ‘some naughty pictures of that Mandy girl’, the head cheerleader.

Jimmy expresses some weak reservations, like noting that these are the kinds of pictures that ‘could land me in jail’, but even so, decides to go along with Earnest’s plan.

The mission objectives clearly don’t need to be specific (‘Get some pictures of Mandy’), but the photos the player has to sneak around and take are at cheerleading practice, in the shower room in the girls dorm, and Mandy in her bedroom getting dressed. Conveniently, the photos you have to take while in the mission are not only grainy black and white snapshots, but in the latter of them Mandy is almost entirely obscured, and so they are nowhere near as graphic as the photos that end up on posters around the school and even in the town centre as a result of your actions:

All this for $25, ‘nerd respect’, and Earnest’s own enjoyment. This is all murky enough, but in the mission that follows, ‘Discretion Assured’, Jimmy finds Mandy understandably inconsolable (“Now everyone thinks I’m a slut…Great, my parents will be so proud. I’ll probably get expelled”), and offers to help her by spray painting over all the posters. What ensues is a kind of mini-game that requires you to travel around campus and town ‘tagging’ the photos before the nerds can put up fresh ones. In the end, you’re rewarded with a kiss from Mandy (“Oh you are the sweetest boy ever!”), despite Jimmy’s actions being the entire reason for all of this in the first place, and her photo (with a lipstick kiss) joins the collection on Jimmy’s bedroom wall.

There’s always another side to be argued with the stories that Rockstar tell and the way they choose their representations, a kind of inside joke: of course, it’s just a reflection of American society and culture back at itself. And by requiring players to complete these objectives to advance the game’s story (which is, arguably, optional), Canis Canem Edit almost dares you to do things, and then forces you to live with the knowledge that you have. But what appears here to be a intended as satire is really unsuccessful, and isn’t actually intelligent at all, just sloppy. No one really faces any consequences except Mandy herself.

I try not to participate in reductive moral outrage, but I couldn’t help but get that buzzing, irritated feeling. Yes, this is a 2006 title, but this is 2016: surely we’re past this? I’m not advocating a rewrite of the past—let’s be clear, I played this game when I was in my early teens, and don’t particularly remember batting an eyelid about this mission or thinking it was so horrendous then (more fool me). But, is this not now a culture that makes revenge porn illegal in many places, and (I would hope) a society that is moving beyond victim-shaming for exactly this?

Even if the missions hadn’t been cut, changing a few lines of dialogue and NPC character behaviours would have done something to solve many of the most awful things about these missions; maybe just as a start, not having Mandy blame herself for having been ‘a bitch’, that she probably ‘deserves it’? Not having grown men NPCs looking at her poster saying ”Good thing my wife didn’t see me looking at that”? (Or having young boys stand around the photos spouting lines like “I think I have mayonnaise on my pants”).

“Good thing my wife didn’t see me looking at that.”

I don’t agree with those who advocate banning these games (those aware of Rockstar’s history with such campaigners can probably think of a few infamous examples), and every time a new article circulates that proposes a tenuous (or at least vastly over complicated and little-really understood) link between video games and violence, I tend to cast a cynical eye over them and move on. But what has always, and continues to this day to frustrate and disappoint me is the potential of these games. So much of Rockstar’s time, effort, and resources have gone into making games that are so critically acclaimed, enormously successful, and well-loved by players. I do not believe that this success is dependent upon an often misguided depiction of misogyny (and assorted other tired stereotypes) disguised as cultural critique, and it’s probable that Rockstar could offer exactly the same experience to its fans, across all of its franchises, and do so much more responsibly, taking the time and effort to adequately depict and represent other sections of non-male society, who clearly they think they are representing, but evidently they really, truly, are not.

So my question simply is: Is this good enough? Or really, should there be more to just remastering and rereleasing “classic” games (for a price), without reevaluating what they meant then, and could mean now?

When you’re playing an emulated classic game on PC like Sonic 2 or a really low-end indie game like Cave Story, do you run the games at full-screen or do you play them in tiny windows at their original resolutions? Recently I’ve found myself going from the former solution to the latter.

It’s one of those things I go back-and-forth on when dealing with low-resolution games. I’ve been having the same back-and-forth with whether or not to use CRT scanlines (currently I’m for them). Both have the same end goal: to cover up the flaws in games that were designed around really old and really small displays.

When I finally got around to going through John Romero’s new DOOM map “e1m8b,” I decided to play it using the Crispy Doom source port for a more faithful experience as opposed to ZDoom which is usually for adding modern visual amenities like 1080p resolution. I played it in a 640 x 480 window upscaling from DOOM’s original 320 x 240 resolution, and was perfectly fine with it. When I played Undertale I went through most of the game in a tiny window on a 1080p screen, but occasionally switched to full-screen.

I wrote a bit about this issue in 2014: indie developers that are actually optimizing their pixel graphics are optimizing them around very low resolutions. I think the developers of Hyper Light Drifter, which comes out this week, admitted the graphics are being optimized around 480p. This is odd because nobody uses displays with that few pixels anymore. I’m guessing everybody just expects these games to be played blown up to get the chunky pixel aesthetic, which works when nearest neighbor scaling is used to keep the upscaling proportional by integers. However, that still isn’t what old console games actually looked like.

Certainly most retro-style games coming out today have graphics that are evoking our memories of retro games more than the actual look of retro games, but even the ones that take a considerate approach to low resolution art seem to be made to be blown up into chunky pixels, not viewed on CRTs. Part of me is starting to think the developers of these games are the generation that grew up playing 8-bit games with emulators on laptops more than with the original hardware on CRTs.

It’s stuff like this that makes me sometimes want to play these indie games on portable screens. I guess that’s a major draw of playing them on the PlayStation Vita, but I still don’t like the idea of buying them again (in addition to PC versions) on a platform that probably won’t last much longer.

Going with tiny windows makes a bit more sense when playing actual old games though, as we know they actually were designed for old displays. I’d say it’s worth thinking about for any game originally made before around 2005 when games started being made for HD displays.

If I ever buy the recent remaster of the original Resident Evil, I’ve thought about simply playing it windowed in its original resolution. Capcom did a decent job of upscaling the game’s pre-rendered backgrounds but there’s only so much it could do with static 640 x 480 art. I’m trying out the same thing with Resident Evil 4 Ultimate HD Edition (where the lowest possible resolution is 800 x 600) because the original game’s textures simply were not meant to be looked at in 1080p. It’ll be another story though when the texture project finishes up.

You may ask: what’s the point of even getting the HD remasters of all these games if you aren’t going to play them in HD? Personally I’ve come to value simply owning these games on PC more than being able to play them in HD. The main value in buying these games is the knowledge that I can install them on practically any computer I want to in the future, and probably won’t have to buy them again.

]]>https://grayraidenreviews.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/tales-of-symphonia-this-game-came-out-13-years-ago-god-i-am-old/
Mon, 29 Feb 2016 06:49:54 +0000grayraiden20https://grayraidenreviews.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/tales-of-symphonia-this-game-came-out-13-years-ago-god-i-am-old/With most of the retro games I have reviewed, I have a memory of how I found out about the title and how I felt about the game back then. All that I really do remember with Tales of Symphonia is that it was the first RPG I played. I never had a Super Nintendo, and there were never any good RPG’s on the N64. So this was my first exposure to the genre. I actually still have the retail box for the Gamecube and the official strategy guide (which I still have and is in really good condition). All I really remember is finding this at my local Blockbuster, and that I could not pronounce the title for the life of me. I know I around 14 at the time and this game was so big, that it needed to be on two discs! So after 13 years and my rose-tinted glasses off, does this game still stand up to par?

The adventure might start out the same as any typical Japanese RPG: a headstrong teenage hero with his dorky best friend who happens to know magic and the ditsy girl who is supposed to save the world. In some ways, the game plays too close to these stereotypes and being a very predictable first half. By the time the big plot twist happens, your would be literally thrown upside down, (Spoilers ahead, but this game is 13 years old and that’s plenty of time that’s passed). Instead of a single world, there are actually two worlds connected on top of each other: Sylvarant one side, and Tethe’alla on the other. When one world thrives, the other decays. Like I mentioned earlier, this game was so big it needed two Gamecube discs to support it. What I remember was that Sylvarant was one disc one and Tethe’alla was on disc two and near the end of the game, when you could travel between worlds you had to swap one disc for the other. Now that the game is downloadable, it runs a lot smoother then I remember.

With big open world RPGs that we have today like Fallout and The Witcher, it can feel like the world is dense and everything you do has some sort of importance. By comparison, Tales of Symphonia doesn’t really hold up over time. Normally when I playing a game to review, I want to at least beat the game once so I can at least see what the game is offering. I really can’t explain why, but I only played about 22 hours of this and there’s another 15 hours to go. After trying to power through and play some more to see if I missed anything, I felt completely drained of gaming (well that and I had a heavy work load this week).

In terms of nostalgic value, Tales of Symphonia reminds me of a simpler time when RPGs were experimenting with open worlds in 3D. But by today’s standards, the game has an interesting plot, but it’s something that’s been done many times before and better in some cases. If you want a good blast to the past for a few hours, you could pick this up on Steam. Just be warned about some of the technical issues.